Company
by Costume Ball
Summary: They are rivals, can't stand each other and whenever they meet, they end up fighting. So what changes their attitudes by night time? /Slash later on.
1. Prologue

So.. I'm just trying something here. I have sort of always wanted to write a story with these two because they're best friends in most... and don't like each other all that much in the anime. Let's see where this goes.

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**Company**

Prologue

For him, it has become some kind of ritual.

He takes the last of the twenty-four steps and opens the old, rusty door. It creaks a little.

Then it's almost completely silent, except for the sound of his own feet, leaving footprints in the freshly fallen snow.

The roof is familiar to him, every inch. He could walk around blind-folded and would never be at danger of falling.

He lost count of all the nights he spent here.

Slowly, he takes careful steps around the little cabin on top of the roof, before sitting down at one of its corners.

He likes those nights, when it's freezing and no one but him is awake. His favourite spot is all his. He sits there, silently, one leg propped up, resting his right arm on it.

The lights of the city in the distance almost seem to flicker. He feels shut out but that is the sentiment he is looking for. He does not want to be a part of the hectic human world right now. No pressure and no thoughts occupying his mind, just him and the cold. The silence, the snow and some sort of serenity.

He can watch his own breath in the cold of the air. He breathes in and out, stoically. It's the same rhythm, all over again.

But then he realizes that tonight his breath is not the only warmth in the air.

'Hn.'

An intruder.

He turns his head and gazes at the familiar silhouette.

A sigh.

'I didn't think you were the type to irrationally stare at the moon, Hiwatari.'

Red-brown orbs meet cerulean ones for less than a second before they turn their attention back to the full moon in the sky.

Body leaned against the wall, crossed arms, he is defensive and apathetic as always.

And of course he gives no answer, just as expected.

His profile is strangely handsome when lit by the dim light of the moon.

'…then again it sort of suits you, I suppose.'

The words escape Tala's mouth before he has time to think about them. But it is true, it doesn't feel wrong to see his greatest rival here. And while normally he would have been embarrassed to compliment the other, even if only in his head, his blood circulation stays the same. He doesn't even reprimand himself for the thought.

Leaning his head back against the outer wall of the staircase cabin, his eyes turn back to the many lights shining brightly in the firmament. His head feels cold where it makes contact with the wall but he is used to that sentiment, having experienced it so often already. He is resistant to the cold anyway, he did grow up here in Russia after all.

After watching the stars for a while, the redhead realizes that he does not mind the other's presence for once. It seems here on the roof there is no rivalry between them. No one tries to claim this place as their only property and no one feels the need to prove their superiority to the other.

Nevertheless, a few seconds later he calmly gets up. He is not sure why but he knows it's not just to be physically on the same level as the other.

A slow breeze hits his face and blows several strands of his fiery red hair aside.

Next to each other they stand in silence for several minutes, staring at the same moon.

And then the other turns to leave without a word. Everything else had been uncharacteristic of him.

Usually Tala would have felt triumphant to have endured the cold longer. And usually he would have watched the other's retreating back with a look full of disdain.

But not tonight. And all of a sudden, he rests his head against the wall behind him, closes his eyes and smiles.

The heat that is usually in the air when they meet seems to have drowned in the cold tonight.


	2. Collision

I appreciate any kind of review. :)

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**Chapter 1: Collision**

Nothing has changed between them, he notices the next day. But he hasn't had any expectations and he doesn't like surprises all that much, anyway.

Why these two share a room, no one knows. Maybe it's sadism on Boris' part, because everyone knows that these two can't really stand each other. But it's the abbey so of course they didn't get to choose their partners.

His bed is nice and warm but he doesn't allow himself to stay in as the alarm rings early in the morning. He is expected to function and he does.

Cold water meets his face but he does not shudder. A quick glance into the mirror.

He gives himself a few seconds to absorb what he sees: A tall, slim boy with fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes. A little too pale but smooth skin and handsome facial features. His eyes don't linger on the reflection for long, though.

He turns around and leaves the bathroom to get dressed.

At breakfast the others are as loud as always. Of course Bryan has to get into a fight with the midget over the food. Midget is not even meant as an offence, it's fact: Ian _is _short. Spencer ends up having to settle their argument, which is not unusual at all either.

Tala chews slowly. He is never really hungry in the morning but he needs energy to get through the day, so he forces the food down, bite for bite.

The following fitness training is routine for him. He does all of it mechanically, without much thought. Even if it's not to the point of exhaustion, he embraces the thought of a shower when he's finally done. He goes to get a towel and looks forward to the few minutes he will have to himself.

Cold water is running down his body and takes the heat and the sweat of the last hours away.

Many of the others used to complain about the cold showers. Tala always thought they were foolish, as if warm water would be wasted on them. He preferred cold showers anyway, they were refreshing.

He gets dressed and packs his things for the following theory class on blading. He is not that attentive but the teacher doesn't notice, he never does. As Tala is a smart student who does well in the tests, he never tries to catch him doing other things. And it could really look like the redhead is taking notes instead of scribbling little figures onto the sheet of paper in front of him.

No one really questions the lunch food. In the abbey you're better off not questioning. It's better than nothing, so suck it up and eat what you get. It's not as if a complaint will get you any replacement. You're more prone to end up having to spend some quality time in one of Boris' rooms which is most definitely not what you want.

The first few minutes of lunch time you only hear the sound of the forks against the plates. After a while the conversations begin.

"Jalbarov was so fucking boring again, today, man, I could hardly keep my eyes open…"

"Yea, and then he sent me a package with the newest volumes of... uhm, you know, _that_ magazine... and wow, the cover girl…"

"Ian, that was _my_ sausage, you fucktard!"

"You daydreaming?"

A calm, deep voice interferes with Tala's thoughts and his eyes turn from the point at the wall that he fixated the last minutes to the speaker. Spencer offers him a little smile.

"You looked absent-minded. Something wrong?"

"Nah. I'm alright. Was just thinking a little bit."

Of course Spencer takes the hint, being one of the few in the abbey who have maintained some tact, and doesn't ask further.

"You'd better concentrate during the training, though. Boris is not in the best mood today, and we wouldn't want you to be his victim, huh? …then he again he would probably find someone, anyone else to cast his anger upon."

Yes, Boris has some weird fondness of Tala. Everyone knows that. But that does not mean that he is not expected to train as hard as the others, it just means that Boris doesn't get _that_ personal and violent with him. Well, probably only until he disappoints him. But Tala does not dare to imagine what will happen if he once fails badly.

The members of the team called "Demolition Boys" gather at their usual training spot a 30 minute break after lunch. Being the strongest bladers in the abbey they get to train in a private area of the huge hall.

They don't have a supervisor like the others, but sometimes Boris joins them to watch their training. Training independently does not mean they're not training hard, though. They're probably even training harder than the other kids because they have expectations to fulfill.

As always Kai is chosen to battle the redhead because Tala usually beats Bryan, Spencer and Ian in every of their fights. He _is_ team captain for a reason after all.

The boys sneer at each other. Both defiantly secure.

With swift movements Tala walks towards the arena, his head held high, his posture confident.

He feels the weight of his blade in his hand and it's familiar and reassuring to him. Getting into his battle position, he casts the other a quick look. His opponent is taking up his position on the other side and gives off the same aura of confidence. They both know of their strength and that they have a fair chance of winning.

The starting signal is given and the two blades begin turning in fast motions. It doesn't take long until they clash heavily for the first time. None of the two bladers is willing to go easy on the other. They know they can expect a long battle with neither of them showing any weakness.

It's exhausting and tiring for both of them but losing is absolutely out of question.

Neither gains the upper hand for longer than a few seconds. Every move is followed by an equally strong response, every attack gets blocked and no crack in their defences is to be seen. The bit beasts rise mightily and it seems a little like they're dancing some brutal, passionate, strange kind of dance.

There's a lot of noise with every collision of the blades but their owners don't speak or shout. They endure the fighting conditions, fists clenched, fully concentrated and not ready to give up.

But in the end no winner can be determined. The blades leave the arena at the exact same moment after a really heavy collision and none turns still, when making contact with the floor milliseconds later.

The opponents lock eyes still full of confidence.

"I'll get you next time, Ivanov!", is spat out before the sounds of footsteps on the cement floor vanish with the one who caused them.


	3. Tolerance

**Tolerance**

This night Tala notices the silhouette from afar already as he steps through the door frame.

His rival is standing absolutely straight with his hands buried in his pockets. He watches the moon, completely disinterested in any of his surroundings, and does not shiver whenever the freezing wind hits him. Of course not. Hiwatari Kai does not show any weakness, especially not to the redhead. The boy's white scarf is moving with the wind, up and down, a bit like a kite's tail.

Tala just walks past him and sits down at his usual spot, not willing to give his favourite place up just because someone else seems to enjoy it as much.

No kind of greeting or sign of acknowledgement is exchanged between them and this time he does not try to start a conversation and bites down the mocking comment on his tongue. He knows that they're both not in the mood to get into a heated argument, which is how every of their conversations usually turns out sooner or later.

There are few stars to be seen when he raises his head and focuses on the firmament but the night sky always has a calming effect on him, whether completely dark or illuminated by the light of many stars and the moon.

He crosses his arms, leans back and simply enjoys the night view for a long time.

Only when the wetness of the snow creeps through his clothes after what seems like hours, he gets up.

Today, he is the first to leave. But again, there is no rivalry, it does not feel like giving up earlier in a competition.

Walking to the door of the cabin with his hands in his pockets, he realizes that it is sort if absurd how completely different they act around each other up here.

The two who always fight and can't relax around each other, who can't keep scornful, offensive comments to themselves and always clash with that fiery temperament and these eyes full of disdain.

The ones who are always tense and ready to strike violently against the other, no matter if verbally or physically.

The two who are always searching for a hole in the defence, any weakness that could be made use of, who would not hesitate a second to do just about anything to gain an advantage over the other.

And on this roof they seem to be different people. It even goes beyond ignorance.

Tala actually feels comfortable with the other boy here with him, at the one place which he always kept to himself and didn't want to show the rest of his team, the ones he considers his friends.

He glances back at the silent boy who looks so much at peace at night time, no derisive or harsh expression spoiling his facial features.

Yes, absurd indeed. Unbelievable, strange and unfamiliar.

He doesn't understand it. But running his hand through his hair and stepping down the stairs, his lips curl into a little smile.

Maybe he can get used to that kind of company.

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Author's Note:

Kind of short, this time. I'm still experimenting a bit..


End file.
